Los Alamos in Los Alamos County, New Mexico — The American Mountains (Southwest)
The Oppenheimer House
Los Alamos Historical Walking Tour
Photographed by James Hulse, March 25, 2025
1. The Oppenheimer House Marker
During the Manhattan Project, from 1943 to 1945, Laboratory Director Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer, his wife Kitty, and their young children Peter and Toni lived here.
Thanks to a generous gift from Helene and Jerry Suydam, the house became part of the Los Alamos History Museum in 2020. The Los Alamos Historical Society preserves this important structure and shares stories of its most famous resident.
Below: The Los Alamos Ranch School cottage, now known as the "Oppenheimer House," blanketed in snow and icicles during the Manhattan Project. Right top to bottom: Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer, circa 1940s. (photos courtesy Los Alamos Historical Society) Los Alamos "Gatekeeper" Dorothy McKibbin, Oppenheimer, and Manhattan Project scientist Victor Weisskopf enjoy some down time in Oppenheimer's home. (photo courtesy LANI)
Pick up a copy of the Historical Walking Tour Guide at the Los Alamos History Museum, Bradbury Science Museum, Los Alamos Nature Center, any of the Visitor Centers, or one of the visitor guide kiosks around town. Download one by scanning the QR code, or go to visitlosalamos.org.
this page online
Erected by Los Alamos.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Notable Buildings. A significant historical year for this entry is 1943.
Location. 35° 53.022′ N, 106° 18.083′ W. Marker is in Los Alamos, New Mexico, in Los Alamos County. It is at the intersection of 19th Street and Nectar Drive on 19th Street. The marker is located along the walkway in front of the house on 19th Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1350 Bathtub Row, Los Alamos NM 87544, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Northern New Mexico. It is also in the American Southwest. Globally, it is in North America, the Rocky Mountains, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Hans Bethe House (here, next to this marker); Victory Garden (within shouting distance of this marker); Welcome to the Harold Agnew Cold War Gallery in the Hans Bethe House (within shouting distance of this marker); The History is Here Campaign (within shouting distance of this marker); Hitching Rail (within shouting distance of this marker); A Sense of Place (within shouting distance of this marker); Bathtub Row (within shouting distance of this marker); The Big House (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Los Alamos.
Also see . . .
1. Los Alamos where discoveries are made. Los Alamos County (Submitted on April 7, 2025, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas.)
2. Historical Walking Tour Map
Photographed by James Hulse, March 25, 2025
2. The Oppenheimer House Marker (right side)
The Oppenheimer House Is located to the right side of the markers behind the trees.
Walk from the Stone Age to the atomic age. Your walking tour spans eight centuries of Los Alamos history, from ancestral Pueblos, through homesteading on the Pajarito Plateau, to the future of science and technology. We hope that it will be just the beginning of your acquaintance with Los Alamos.(Submitted on April 8, 2025, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas.)
3. J. Robert Oppenheimer. Wikipedia
Born in New York City, Oppenheimer obtained a degree in chemistry from Harvard University in 1925 and a doctorate in physics from the University of Gφttingen in Germany in 1927, studying under Max Born. After research at other institutions, he joined the physics faculty at the University of California, Berkeley, where he was made a full professor in 1936. Oppenheimer made significant contributions to physics in the fields of quantum mechanics and nuclear physics, including the BornOppenheimer approximation for molecular wave functions; work on the theory of positrons, quantum electrodynamics, and quantum field theory; and the OppenheimerPhillips process in nuclear fusion. With his students, he also made major contributions to astrophysics, including the theory of cosmic ray showers, and the theory of neutron stars and black holes.(Submitted on April 10, 2025, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas.)
Photographed by James Hulse, March 25, 2025
3. The Oppenheimer House
Photographed by James Hulse, March 25, 2025
4. The view through the window of the living room of the Oppenheimer House
Public Domain - unknown photographer - United States Department of Energy, 1944
5. Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer
Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer, atomic physicist and head of the Manhattan Project - NARA
Credits. This page was last revised on April 10, 2025. It was originally submitted on April 7, 2025, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas. This page has been viewed 407 times since then and 90 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on April 10, 2025, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas.
